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CSNY Drummer Dallas Taylor 1948-2015 R.I.P.

Also wrote a famous essay about addiction in the aftermath of Kurt Cobain’s pointless suicide.

By Fred Mills

Veteran rock drummer Dallas Taylor has died at the age of 66 following a long period of failing health. According to the Los Angeles Times he passed away Sunday, Jan. 18, at a L.A. hospital. His wife Patti McGovern-Taylor confirmed his death, writing on her Facebook page:

“This morning at 2:30 am I lost the love of my life Dallas W Taylor, he came into my life almost 18 yrs ago and saved me as much as i may have saved him. To me he was just a Good Man, a Good Friend, a Good Father, a Good Grandfather or Pop Pop, a Great Drummer and much beloved by many. I cannot even find the words to put down to say how grateful I am for the many friends and family who have been there for both of us these many days he has spent in the hospital, especially last night. I know he is a peace. He will be missed beyond words, it is so very hard to imagine my life without him by my side, but i feel his love even as i write these words.”

Taylor, of course, achieved superstardom in the early ‘70s as the drummer for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; he’d previously played in up-and-coming hippie band Clear Light, and would later go on to work with Steve Stills’ Manassas, Paul Butterfield and Van Morrison. Along the way he also acquired a substantial drug habit that took some time to kick; he subsequently became an addiction counselor. He also had to have to undergo a liver transplant in 1990.

The Times report adds that in 1994 Taylor wrote an essay about Kurt Cobain, noting wryly, “As addicts whose only real happiness is being high — whether it’s on dope or music, writing, acting or painting — success becomes our worst enemy. When self-hatred runs so deep, it is never alleviated by fame or wealth.”

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